Michigan State University Voice Professor Richard Fracker will perform a guest recital as part of the weekly Bach's Lunch series at 12:10 p.m. Thursday, March 29, in Eisenhower Chapel on the University Park campus of Penn State. Fracker will also present a masterclass during the weekly Voice Forum at 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 30, in 110 Music Building I on the University Park campus of Penn State. Admission to both events is free.
Richard Fracker is professor of voice (tenor) and area chair of vocal arts at the Michigan State University (MSU) College of Music. Prior to joining the MSU faculty in 2004, he performed regularly in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world, including 10 seasons and more than 160 performances at the New York Metropolitan Opera. He appeared in 14 “Live from the MET” international and national radio broadcasts, performing 17 roles at the MET including the tenor lead in the Metropolitan Opera’s debut production of Philip Glass’s "The Voyage."
Known for his versatility both vocally and dramatically, Fracker has enthusiastically explored both traditional and contemporary repertoires ranging from Britten and Beethoven, to Verdi and Glass over the course of his professional career.
A member of Columbia Artist’s revival of the Bel Canto Trio, Fracker toured throughout the United States and Canada in the role originally performed by Mario Lanza and has concertized widely with opera and symphonic orchestras in China, Norway, and throughout Europe.
Awarded the MSU College of Music’s Withrow Excellence in Teaching Award, Fracker has had students who have won international, national, and regional competitions and have appeared professionally in opera, Broadway, films, and concert halls throughout the world. Additionally, Fracker undergraduate students have routinely been accepted into leading graduate programs in the country. They have earned substantial scholarships, fellowships, and awards.
Additionally, Fracker partnered in 2005 with Haijing Fu, fellow Metropolitan Opera colleague, friend, and internationally acclaimed baritone, to establish and direct the MSU-China Collaboration. Now in its ninth year, the program has featured and encouraged more than 120 Michigan State University and Chinese graduate and undergraduate students to learn, adapt, and perform in diverse cultural settings. In 2011, Michigan State student collaborative participants won the Grand Prize (ensemble scene performance) of the 2011 Fifth International Student Opera Competition held in Tianjin, China.